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Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church

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with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and

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faith. And today, I want to challenge you to think through the issue of what does our Lord

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have to say to the church in Laodicea that has application to us today? What does he say to them

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that he also says to us? Now, the church in Laodicea is a church in Asia to whom our Lord

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wrote a letter in the book of Revelation. We're looking at the book of Revelation in our study of

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our series here, and we're looking at Revelation at a pretty close angle here. So we're taking each

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of these letters, looking very closely, because they are going to cast a huge shadow over the rest

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of the book of Revelation, whether we're talking about tribulation, great tribulation, or rapture,

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or 666, or the beast, or whatever it might be. So let's look today at the book of Revelation,

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chapter 3, the letter to the church in Laodicea. But before we read that letter, I want to get you

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up to date on a Bible study that's going to be happening here very soon, in the month of October.

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And it's going to be called Revealing Revelation, a community study of the apocalypse. Revealing

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revelation. Someone once said that for a book to be called Revelation, that is that which is being

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revealed, it's so obscure that it's hard to understand. Well, not always, not once you get

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the mode of interpretation going. So we're going to be revealing revelation in our Bible study here in

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the near future, a community study of the apocalypse. And it's going to be a community Bible study. And so

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we're going to hold it in a public place at Starbucks on 17th Street in Idaho Falls. Starbucks

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at 900 East 17th Street in Idaho Falls. So we'll be able to relax in a public atmosphere, a community

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Bible study of Revelation. And it's going to begin Thursday, October 10th. And it's going to run from

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7 p.m. to 8 15 p.m. precisely. And the leaders for this study, myself, Pastor David Bass of New

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Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And secondly, Pastor Mike Gilea of Share the Sun Ministries. And

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you can get more information about this Bible study. We would ask that you call if you want to

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join us for this, 208-523-0196. You don't have to, but we would like to have some idea of how many

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people are going to be there. And call us for more information and to let us know that you'll be

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there. That's area code 208-523-0196 for the Bible study, Revealing Revelation, a community study of

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the apocalypse. We want you to bring your opinions, your views, your perspectives on this fantastic book

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of the Bible, the book of Revelation, beginning Thursday, October 10th from 7 to 8 15 p.m.

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at Starbucks, 900 East 17th Street in Idaho Falls. Well, let's get to where we are then in Revelation

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now, at least. And it is in Revelation chapter 3, the letter to the church in Laodicea. And it

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goes this, to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write, these are the words of the Amen, the faithful

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and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.

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I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,

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I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich, I have acquired wealth and duty, but you

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do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, excuse me, poor and blind and naked. I counsel

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you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you can become rich, and white clothes to wear so

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that you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes so you can see. Those whom I

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love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am, I stand at the door and knock.

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If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. To him who overcomes, I will give

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the right to sit with me on my, just as I overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. He who

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has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The letter to the church in Laodicea

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in the book of Revelation chapter three. Well, we saw last week that the church in Laodicea was one

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who received no commendation, but only condemnation, and you heard that in the letter, right? Most of the

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other churches in Asia received a measure of commendation and a measure of condemnation. But

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we saw several weeks ago that the church in Philadelphia received only commendation and

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no condemnation. But now we see the church in Laodicea, only condemnation, only rebuke. But

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that doesn't mean he doesn't love the saints in Laodicea, the church in Laodicea. He does,

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but he disciplines those whom he loves, doesn't he? We saw an explanation for the idea of hot and cold

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last week that Laodicea was a city in which they had to have water piped in, and they had it piped in

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from two sources, one very cold water and one very hot water. And in each situation, the hot water,

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for instance, was medicinal and strong in minerals and so forth, and so it was very medicinal and good

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to bathe in as well, hot. But then there was the sweet, cold water from the city of Hierapolis,

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which was also very salutary and good in its own way because it was pleasant to drink. But by the time

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either water reached Laodicea, hot or cold, it was lukewarm. And Jesus is saying, you're like your

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water, lukewarm. I wish you were either hot or cold. That is salutary. They would be beneficial as a

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church if that were the case, but their spiritual condition was lukewarm, and he is ready to do what

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every visitor to Laodicea would do once it tasted that water, and that was spit it out. That was the

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first reaction to Laodicea's water. Well, let us go on to verses 18 and 20 then as well. Today,

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where we look at the church in Laodicea, and the point I want to make from these verses,

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verses 18 through 20, the point that could be made is, before the one who sees truly and in

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faithfulness, I urge you to repent and be prepared to suffer and labor in good works. That is the essence

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of verses 18 to 20. Our Lord says four. That is, our Lord lays out a series of antitheses here in

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verses 18 to 20. That is opposites. They are under the illusion that they are rich and prospering and

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need not a thing. Thank you. But here's where the antitheses come in. Excuse me. That is the stark

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contrast between their figuring they are rich and prospering and need not a thing. Oh, our Lord says,

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number one, you instead are wretched, pitiable, and poor. Oh, in the world's eyes, Laodicea was

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anything but wretched, pitiable, and poor. No. In the world's eyes, in the eyes of the rest of the Roman

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Empire, the city of Laodicea was prosperous. They were the financial center of Asia, kind of like the

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Wall Street of Asia, with banks and commerce houses, trade guilds that set policy for the rest of the

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continent. They were kind of all together, wrapped in one, the New York City, the London, and Tokyo of

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the Asian Peninsula. In the eyes of the Roman Empire, Laodicea was anything but wretched, pitiable, and poor,

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but rather respectable, enviable, and rich. But Christ is describing the spiritual state of the church

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there, not their worldly state. Our Lord sees with spiritual eyes, doesn't he? He sees into the hearts

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of men. In antithesis, you wealthy, self-satisfied fat cats, our Lord says, buy from me, rather, gold

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refined bearer. That is, Christian character shaped by suffering and tribulation. This is for us today

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as well, for the church as well, to be purified. Many churches, and perhaps the church in America,

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must have its Christian character shaped by suffering and tribulation. That's what we're in for. You're not

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going to be raptured out of it, even as Paul alludes in 1 Corinthians, where the dross is consumed,

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right? What remains is that which endures, gold, silver, and precious stones. The hearts and the

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character of the church in Laodicea needed to have their dross consumed, refined by fire, i.e. suffering

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and tribulation, so that what would remain is solid Christian character, gold, silver, and precious

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stones. Sometimes discipline, sometimes tribulation and suffering does precisely these things, even

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though we don't like it, even though it doesn't seem pleasant at the time, as Peter says. Well, not only

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are they not rich, prospering, and not needing a thing, oh, our Lord says, you're blind. You are

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wretched, pitiable, and poor, but you are also blind. Now, this had personal application. The saints in

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Laodicea would say, ouch, because Laodicea was world-renowned for an eye salve, a particular blend

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of elements which provided a renowned eye salve, and for its treatment of ocular disease. The Greek

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historian Stravel called Laodicea, and the powders that they had, the salve, a Phrygian powder.

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So, they were famous throughout Asia for their treatment of ocular disease, eye diseases. Laodicea

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had a long-standing medical school, too, established in Stravel's day. They were kind of like the Johns

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Hopkins of the ancient world when it came to training physicians. How can we be blind, they

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would say, but our Lord calls them blind, spiritually blind, and urges them to get eye salve from him,

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that is, spiritual healing for spiritual sight, that they might be healed, even as the blind man

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in John chapter 9 was healed, not only physically, but spiritually. That man, blind man in John chapter

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9 said, I know not from whence he comes. All I know is that once I was blind, but now I see all the

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saints in Laodicea, and they to exclaim the same thing. Well, not only are they not rich and prospering

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and needing not a thing, oh, but they are also naked. And once again, culturally, the church in

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Laodicea would say, ouch, because Laodicea produced a unique product in all the Roman Empire, and that

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is an exquisite, soft, shiny black wool from which the finest garments in the world were made.

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So to the surrounding world, Laodicea was anything but naked. In fact, as a consequence of her fabulous

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woolen trade, clothing and fabric from all over the Roman Empire flowed into Laodicea too as a

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secondary consequence. She was the fashion center of Asia. So to say she was naked would hurt in

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particular, but our Lord counsels them to buy from him white garments, standing for righteousness,

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of course, white garments, so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not

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be seen. Well, this is now the third of seven allusions in the book of Revelation to the glistening

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white garments of righteousness, which are symbols for the good works of the saints. We're going to see

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this throughout Revelation that the Apostle John uses glistening white garments to stand for the

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righteousness of the saints. I know your works, he says, would that they were like these, oh, but lest

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they despair of being rejected altogether by the Lord. He balances this stern rebuke using cultural

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illusions, things they would understand, a life they were already living, whether it was with a wealthy

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bankers or with eye salve or with rich clothing. All of these things our Lord uses then to show them

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what they need. He says, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Those whom

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I love, and he does. A father loves a child and disciplines him. And in fact, father, if you do not

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discipline your children, you do not say you love them. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline,

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so be zealous and repent. Now, as we observed throughout the New Testament, loving parents

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discipline. That's all there is to it. Loving parents discipline. No discipline present, no love

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present. Our father disciplines us for our benefit, and thus he loves us. It's meant to lead us to

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repentance and zeal for righteousness. And correspondingly, a true child of the father who

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loves him will repent. A false and rebellious child will not repent. Which are the Laodiceans?

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All history would prove, because the church disappeared from Laodicea. Which are the Laodiceans?

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Which are we, dear brothers and sisters, will we repent here in the United States of America?

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America, because we have all of these ostensible riches as well. We have banking centers, right? We're

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the wealthiest nation in the world. We have amazing medicine in the West here in America as well.

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We have amazing clothing. But all of these things, our Lord says, don't count a wit with him. It's the

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spiritual side of these things. Spiritual sight, the clothing of righteousness that counts, right?

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But lest they despair, the church in Laodicea, and consequently, lest we despair as well. We should

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not despair. Lest we despair of being rejected altogether by the Lord, our Lord balances stern

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rebuke with assurance as to the reason. He says, those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be

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zealous and repent. And as further encouragement and promise to the Laodiceans, our Lord gives promise

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of his gracious presence amongst his church in this famous parable. He says, behold, I stand at the door

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and knock. Almost all of us know this verse, don't we? In a day and time when motel six and holiday

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inns had not yet negotiated proper contracts to reach this part of the world? Well, the grace of

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hospitality was a treasured virtue. Behold, I stand at the door. In fact, lives depended on it. And

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Laodicea, at the crossroads of two major trade routes, saw a constant flow of travelers in need

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of accommodations. Do you see how the Lord tailors his scriptures to the culture and background of the

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people to whom he writes? To receive a knock at the door at any time of day or night meant that

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someone, a friend or a stranger, sought shelter and fellowship with you. Famous painting by

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Warner Solomon of our Lord knocking on the door in the broad daylight, of course, with vegetation

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around him, but it's a beautiful painting. And of course, our Lord was friend, hopefully,

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and this is a bid to renew fellowship with him. Jesus standing at the door knocking. So in its

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context, it is not an Arminian model of evangelism. Jesus does not beg and plead for you in your free

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will to open the door of your heart and receive him for salvation. That's not the point of this

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parable. And I've seen preachers milk this for all it's worth in their altar calls. And so it's a

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misapplication of the text to say this is an evangelism. No, the fellowship text. Rather,

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the intimate fellowship of a meal is put forth. This is a motif in Revelation that will culminate

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in the marriage supper of the lamb, a meal. Yes. Now we reprise this fellowship of an evening supper.

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It's shades of the Emmaus road, isn't it? And we reprise this fellowship of an evening supper

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every Sunday, too, in the Lord's Supper. Join us at New Geneva to have this meal, this intimate

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fellowship meal with the Lord at the Lord's table every Sunday. Well, at the end of discipline, then,

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is restoration and loving fellowship. That's the point of this text. It's not all, though.

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And move on, then, to verses 21 and 22. And we'll close with this. The point that is made from

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verses 21 to 22 is, Church in Laodicea, before the one who sees truly and in faithfulness,

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endeavor to rule with Christ in his kingdom rather than a mere provincial capital. Rule with Christ,

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Laodicea, or church in Idaho Falls, or wherever you're listening, endeavor to rule with Christ in

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his kingdom rather than a mere provincial capital. Verses 21 and 22. This involves some cultural

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background. Our Lord extends a promise to those who conquer, again, as he does through every letter

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to those who conquer. For the seventh time, repetition being the heart of learning, for the seventh time

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that we might remember this motif throughout Revelation, dominion is our destiny, dear listener,

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dominion of all of creation, is our destiny. Not a rapture and a retreat, not failure, but dominion.

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The model for Revelation, as we've said again and again, is Exodus and Joshua. The model for Revelation

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is Exodus and Joshua, the conquest, the conquest of the land. And this will kick into warp drive here

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in the immediate chapters following. But for the seventh time now, of what nature is this conquest

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that we are on? And what are our weapons of conquest? Oh, the visions lay before us, do they not?

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Oh, pastor, they're political, and we must be ruthless in acquiring political power like the Democrats.

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Or they're martial, and we must be brutal in using them. We must use the Army, Navy, Air Force,

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and Marines to conquer. Is that it? Or are they economic in amassing that wealth for power to

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conquer? No, that's the world's way, isn't it? We see it miserably around us in spades so often,

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do we not? For Chairman Mao for existence, for example, excuse me, for Chairman Mao and the worldling

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political power comes from the barrel of a gun, doesn't it? But for us, spiritual power comes from

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the blood of the cross. And that is our way of conquering, our mode of conquering through the

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blood of the cross. Whence our weapons, too. Paul says the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,

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but have divine power to destroy strongholds. Oh, these are our weapons. Our battle is primarily

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spiritual, brothers and sisters. Spiritual, but it does have real-world consequences, perhaps

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in the political and economic sphere. But it begins, and it is first and foremost a spiritual power.

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And so our weapons are spiritual. We conquer by the blood of the cross, as Revelation insists.

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We conquer by our deeds of love and righteousness, our works, dear listener, as Revelation bears out

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for us, and through tribulation and suffering, as the book of Revelation bears out for us, by the word

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of God, as the book of Revelation bears out for us. These are our weapons. We conquer by worship and

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the sacraments, once again, as Revelation bears out for us. All of these culminating in the promise

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of dominion. Dominion is our destiny, dear saints. This has been the history of the church throughout

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the world as well. John puts it this way. He says, the one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with

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me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. So we see another major

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motif here, culminating in Revelation chapter 20, where Revelation chapter 20 says,

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Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.

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Here were promised in chapter 3, and rule as well. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for

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the testimony of Jesus, the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or its image, and had not received

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its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand

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years, unquote. Now, as we will make clear throughout the book of Revelation, this is not some future

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reality for a literal thousand year millennium. No, no, no. Gotten it so wrong over the years. Rather,

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it is a present reality, growing more so as the centuries roll. By spiritual weapons, we conquer

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God's physical world, and by virtue of our resurrection life in Christ, we reign with him now from heaven

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over earth, not in some future kingdom, but that is his kingdom right now. It is ours to take dominion

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now. Dominion is our destiny. It is our mission now, for thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as

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it is in heaven. Well, that's a good summary of our mission, right there in the Lord's Prayer.

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God's kingdom come, his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are responsible by the power of

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God to make that happen. And I hope that you've trained your ear to hear what the Spirit is saying

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to the churches over these seven letters. We've now concluded the seven letters to the churches in

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Asia. And we do not interpret Revelation in the wooden, literalistic fashion of the dispensationalists.

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No, we interpret it according to its genre. That is, its genre, its kind or type of writing is

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apocalyptic with its own rules and means of communicating beautiful, important, and meaningful

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symbols and metaphors, for example, communicate to us in the book of Revelation a present reality for the

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church, including the seven churches of Asia that John addresses here. And we've seen that those

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seven churches represent symbolically the whole entire church through church history, addressing

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issues that crop up in the lives of churches all through church history. As you have seen, these letters

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did not fly over their heads for a special delivery to a church 2,000 years hence. This book,

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is not about rapture, red heifers, and barcodes tattooed on your forehead. No, it was meant for them

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and consequently meant for us as well, dear listener. Therefore, the whole church, these letters are for the

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whole church throughout redemptive history. Well, this has been Pastor David Bass, who the whole church

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throughout church history has relished this fellowship in the setting of a meal from the beginning, as we have

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seen. And this has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Now, I want to

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remind you again of our Bible study on the book of Revelation. If these have challenged your thinking,

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come to this Bible study, community Bible study we're sponsoring. It's going to be a community Bible study

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at Starbucks at 900 East 17th Street in Idaho Falls. And bring your opinions, bring your perspectives,

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your views to our study. It's called Revealing Revelation, a community study of the apocalypse.

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And it's going to begin Thursday, October 10th from 7 to 8 15 p.m. at Starbucks at 900

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17th Street. Each Thursday thereafter, it's going to be led by myself, Pastor David Bass of New

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Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I'm team teaching it with Mike Gilea of Share the Sun

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Ministries. Pastor Mike Gilea of Share the Sun Ministries. You can call us for more information

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about this Bible study on Revelation at area code 208-523-0196. This has been Pastor David Bass

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and New Geneva Meets for Holy Worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and

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Boulevard. Come and join us for worship. I'm preaching through Revelation right now. Come and

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join us at New Geneva. We meet for Holy Worship at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and

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Boulevard. Call us for feedback or more information, 208-523-0196.